Anagnorisis
by Gaia Faye
Summary: As he watches the relationship between his son and his Patient Zero move beyond professional boundaries, Chandra Suresh realizes he's in over his head.
1. Part 1

**Warnings:** Death.

**Anagnorisis**  
Part One

Gabriel Gray was a jittery man, always nervous, always testing the waters. He hid himself under layers of clothing, and his thick-framed glasses struck Chandra more as protective goggles. Yet in all these efforts to hide himself, he seemed like he would burst at any moment.

"When I was a kid..." he started, sitting with his shoulders self-consciously hunched, but tense with restrained excitement. "I used to wish some stranger would come and tell me my family wasn't really my family. They weren't bad people, they were just... insignificant. And I wanted to be different. Special. I wanted to change. A new name, a new li-"

The apartment door swung open and Gabriel looked to see who had come in. Chandra's mouth twisted at the interruption, but he nodded at his son shuffling into the apartment. "Ah, Mohinder. Welcome home."

Mohinder, his eyes half-open and his shoulders slumped, grunted in reply. He dropped his keys on the table by the door and slung his shoulder bag beneath it. Only then did he actually look in his father's direction and see they had company. "Oh, hello!" he said, straightening his shirt as he approached the table. Gabriel was already on his feet.

"This is Mr. Gabriel Gray," Chandra said as the two younger men shook hands. "Gabriel, this is my son, Mohinder."

"Nice to meet you," Gabriel said with a quick, shy nod as he sat back down.

"How was your shift?" Chandra asked Mohinder.

Mohinder ran his hands through his curls and smiled insincerely. "Lovely as usual. Such a shame it's your turn tomorrow." He looked back at Gabriel and made an effort at a real smile. "Please excuse me. I'm tired."

Gabriel watched him disappear into the bedroom, the door closing behind him. "Your son- Mohinder- he's helping you? You didn't mention him before."

Chandra nodded. "Ah, yes, he insisted on coming with me to America. Just as well. With both of us working for the taxi service it will be easier to make ends meet and progress with my research at the same time."

Gabriel peered at him, the way he looked at the watches in his shop, and Chandra realized how much his tone gave away. "You didn't want him to come?" Gabriel asked. "He's not in genetics?"

"No, he is, but I had planned to work alone," Chandra said quickly. "As you read in my book, the human brain is capable of more than the average person can dream. You are special, Gabriel, and together we can uncover a whole world of people who are leading the world into a new phase of evolution."

It took Gabriel a moment to follow him back to their original topic, but he smiled. "I look forward to it."

X X X

The weeks passed steadily enough, for Chandra at least. He was sure they were quite slow for Gabriel, who was perpetually excited about uncovering a special ability. Even as each test Chandra implemented proved negative or inconclusive regarding special abilities, Gabriel's disappointment would give way to an enduring anticipation. He had even adjusted the schedule of his watch repair shop so that, besides evenings and weekends, he could spend the entirety of Wednesday assisting Chandra's research. Chandra was impressed by his dedication; after all, Gabriel had the least to lose if nothing manifested.

Gabriel caught onto the research quickly. He had no educational background in genetics, only high school biology, but he avidly read a wide variety of subjects and insisted he was a quick student. And he did not exaggerate- after eagerly consuming all the books Chandra loaned or recommended to him, he had only a few clarifying questions before demonstrating an excellent understanding of his reading. Gabriel was a more than efficient assistant in Chandra's work.

Mohinder's weeks were likely agonizingly slow, since he agreed to take the bulk of the taxi schedule so his father could spend more time on his work. Chandra felt little guilt about this- he hadn't forced Mohinder to come along. In fact, he'd actively discouraged him. Chandra wasn't going to pander to Mohinder's emotional needs; they were here for Chandra's work, not to bond, and Chandra had made that clear.

Mohinder only complained now and then, and even then only about customers and coworkers, but his desire to participate more in Chandra's work was made plain by his questions when he arrived home, by how he'd stay up into the night catching up on Chandra's progress even if he had an early shift the next morning, and- mostly- by how he had come to regard Gabriel coldly when he would come home to find the American once again in the apartment.

Chandra tried to ignore Mohinder's attitude. He couldn't help it if Gabriel was able to be around more. Mohinder would have to cope with his petty, irrational jealousy. Chandra wasn't going to validate it by coming to Gabriel's defense or changing the warm way he'd come to regard him.

At least that's how Chandra saw the situation until he noticed that Gabriel wasn't ignoring Mohinder's glowering and short, pointed remarks. Rather, he gleefully reflected them, as if he were winning a competition for Chandra's attention. Chandra knew that Gabriel's father had left his family when he was young, so it wasn't difficult to figure out Gabriel saw him as a father figure. Still, he disliked how their hostility distracted from their research.

"Your apartment must be lonely," Mohinder would say.

"Oh, it can be," Gabriel would reply with a not-so-benign smile. "It's so much nicer being here, making all this progress with Chandra."

And Mohinder would spend the evening heavily handling books and dishes and slamming doors and generally making a passive aggressive racket instead of sitting down to help.

Or Gabriel on occasion would find himself stuck on a technical point: "Chandra, this paragraph in that new enzyme study, about the potential complications of-"

"It's rather simple," Mohinder would interrupt, swooping over with a sigh and explaining with ease.

And Gabriel would spend the evening much quieter than usual, apparently too embarrassed to have failed his personal high standards to give his opinion on anything Chandra asked.

And on and on.

"I'm sorry it'll just be you and Mohinder to meet Mr. Bennet, Chandra, but my mother can't see her doctor alone."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Gabriel. You don't even have anything to show him yet."

Chandra wanted no part in their childishness, but just observing it irritated him. At the same time, Chandra was unsure how to better the situation. He tried suggesting that they work together when he was out with the cab, but Gabriel would remember that he had promised a customer their cuckoo clock the next day, or Mohinder would remember that the apartment lacked groceries, or whatever excuse either could come up with.

Then one night at dinner Gabriel suggested that he and Chandra see a movie. "It'll be my treat," Gabriel said. "You've been so good to me. I really want to do something for you."

Chandra barely glanced up from his notes as he ate. "That's very kind, Gabriel, but I don't think tonight-"

"You really do deserve a break," Gabriel said earnestly.

Chandra suppressed a battered sigh. He had little need for breaks; what he'd like now was a little solitude. "I'm sorry, but I have too much work to do here."

"I did preorder the tickets," Gabriel tried again.

Chandra was about to lose his patience, but Mohinder made a quiet, amused noise in his throat. Chandra smiled at his son. "Why don't you go, Mohinder?"

Mohinder looked up from his plate and, as if Chandra had been speaking an alien language, said, "What?"

"See the film with Gabriel."

"Oh, I..." Mohinder glanced at Gabriel uneasily.

"I insist!" Chandra said. "I feel like I'm keeping you both huddled up with a grousing old man."

Gabriel frowned. "But you've been working so-"

"It honestly would make me feel better to see you take a free night," Chandra said, upbeat but with finality.

"Okay," Gabriel said reluctantly, flashing Mohinder a wary smile. Mohinder returned it.

"Let me know how it is," Chandra said dismissively, his mind already wandering to the research waiting on his desk.

X X X

Chandra's night passed quickly, and it had not occurred to him how long Mohinder and Gabriel had been gone until Mohinder opened the door shortly after midnight.

"Was it a long film?" Chandra asked, checking his watch against the clock on his laptop.

"Oh, no," Mohinder replied, yawning. "We wound up going for a walk afterwards. It was such a nice night, and I hardly ever get to see this city outside of that horrid cab."

Chandra smiled. "That was nice of Gabriel. I take it you got along better than you thought."

"It was not as awkward as I'd assumed it would be," Mohinder said. Then he stuttered, "Wh-what do you mean? We get along fine."

Chandra closed the laptop and smiled. "Indeed. Good night, Mohinder."

That was the start of it, although Chandra couldn't possible know until later. It wasn't as if Mohinder and Gabriel started spending an inordinate amount of time together. Mostly it was still the three of them- making calls, performing tests, researching- but now if Mohinder went out to the store, Gabriel would go with him. Now if Gabriel spent extra time at his shop, Mohinder would take time to visit him. Now on days Chandra drove the taxi, the younger men would work together on the assignments he'd leave for them.

Chandra felt more at ease without the sibling-like tension, and he did feel happy to see Mohinder making a friend. Mohinder was too emotional to have a scientist's heart of stone; he needed more human exchange than Chandra could give him. Chandra had told Mohinder this point blank when he tried to convince him not to come to America, and it seemed to have worked, until Mohinder's emotions about-faced from dejection to stubbornness and he showed up with his suitcase on the day of Chandra's flight. Chandra had not been looking forward to seeing Mohinder unhappy in the United States.

A bond with Gabriel solved that problem, Chandra thought, not suspecting his own obliviousness until one quiet afternoon a few weeks after the movie. Chandra was implementing a personality questionnaire, and he caught Gabriel staring at the family photo on his desk.

"What is it?" Chandra asked.

"Your wife," Gabriel said. "Mohinder has her smile."

Chandra quirked an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Gabriel quickly looked away from the photo to his own lap. "Well, I... It was... something I noticed."

X X X

On a rainy evening, Mohinder prepared dinner for himself, Chandra, and Gabriel. Gabriel staying for meals had become the norm, and as he helped Chandra lay out the table there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Chandra said. He was expecting a package of files and journals from his wife in India, but when he opened the door he found a petite young woman with a pixie haircut. She held a large bowl of cheese-slathered pasta.

"Hi," she said cautiously, shifting the bowl to one arm so she could shake Chandra's hand. "I'm your new neighbor."

"Ah, uh, yes, I saw the movers the other day," Chandra said awkwardly.

"Yup! My name is Eden, Eden McCain." She peeked around him at Gabriel and Mohinder. "I thought a good way to get to know the neighbors would be to make entirely too much macaroni and use that as an excuse for dinner company."

"Oh, I see." Chandra couldn't help but feel amused by her frankness. He glanced back into the apartment. Mohinder looked curious; Gabriel frowned. Chandra turned back to Eden who smiled hopefully, biting her lip. "Well, I suppose so," he said. "We do have plenty of ericheri."

"You're sure it's no trouble?" she said, looking suddenly unsure that her plan was cute and clever.

He stepped aside. "None at all." He introduced her to Mohinder and Gabriel and asked Gabriel to add an extra plate.

Within a few minutes they were seated, Chandra across from his son and Eden across from Gabriel. As they ate, the rain pattered against the windows. Chandra had never had macaroni and cheese before, and he wasn't sure if it was a proper complement to Mohinder's dish, but it tasted fine all the same. Chandra started small talk with Eden, asking where she had lived before (Utah) and about her occupation (starting as a file clerk the following Monday), but she seemed more eager to ask her own questions and he allowed her to turn the conversation.

"So Mohinder is your son, but how do you know them, Gabe?"

Gabriel smiled tightly. "It's Gabriel."

"Ah, sorry," Eden said with a conciliatory nod. "So how?"

"I help them with their work."

"We're in America indefinitely on research," Mohinder added.

"Oh? Where are you from?" Eden asked.

"India. Chennai."

"That used to be called Madras, right?" Eden said. Mohinder nodded, and while she seemed pleased at being correct, Chandra noticed Gabriel roll his eyes. "That's a long way from home!" she said. "What kind of research brought you here?"

"We work in a specialized area of genetics," Mohinder said.

"Specialized in what?"

"It's very complex," Gabriel spoke up. His voice was curt, and he hadn't touched his macaroni.

Mohinder frowned at him and answered her. "Not to sound lofty, but we're delving into the future of human evolution."

Eden raised her eyebrows. "That does sound lofty."

"Complex," Gabriel repeated.

She smiled not-so-sweetly. "I may not be a genetics professor, but I can try to understand."

Gabriel reflected her smile and returned to ignoring her macaroni.

"I really am interested," Eden said to Mohinder, resting her hand between them on the table. "It sounds revolutionary."

Chandra smiled. "I think it will be."

"It sounds overwhelming too. If you guys need help in any way..."

Gabriel stabbed at his ericheri with needless force.

Mohinder looked to his father at Eden's proposition. "Well, perhaps."

She grinned at Mohinder, in a way that reminded Chandra of his wife when he first met her. "I'm a fast learner," she said.

"Hey," Gabriel interjected with a curiosity that did not sound genuine. "How did you know they're professors?"

Eden's eyes flashed to him. "I'm sorry?"

"Just a second ago you said you weren't a genetics professor like Mohinder and Chandra. How'd you know?"

She laughed. "I guess I just guessed correctly."

"Hm."

She glanced at the wall clock. "Oh, jeez. I'm sorry to cut out like this, but my mother's supposed to call soon."

"Ah." Chandra nodded, and he and Mohinder stood politely as she got up. "Well, thank you for visiting, and for your cooking."

Gabriel remained in his seat. "Nice to meet you," he said dully.

Mohinder tried to give her back the rest of the macaroni, but she stopped him, saying it was a nice-to-meet-you gift from her, and she could pick the bowl up another time. She smiled at him again as Chandra escorted her to the door. They said their good-byes and when Chandra turned back to the table, Mohinder was still on his feet and Gabriel was still seated.

"Wow," Mohinder said tersely, arms folded. "She really rubbed you the wrong way."

"She just shows up and invites herself in," Gabriel retorted around a mouthful of bananas and yams. He swallowed. "You don't find that at all rude? You don't even know her."

"She was perfectly nice."

"How did she know you were professors?"

"It's not exactly a leap of logic."

"Something's not right about her," Gabriel insisted.

As they argued, Chandra regarded Gabriel carefully, thinking about how he'd reacted when Eden started her flirtations. But perhaps he was jumping to conclusions. Mohinder just seemed to think Gabriel was being antisocial. Perhaps that's all it was. Gabriel, who only ever occasionally mentioned his mother, did seem happy with the arrangement they'd developed over the past two months. Adding another person would disrupt that.

"Now, children," Chandra said, trying to dispel the tension. "She was a nice but strange girl." He smiled at Gabriel. "Her offer of assistance was very nice but we already have a perfectly good assistant."

Gabriel blushed. "I wasn't... That's not..."

"Now I need you two to-" Chandra cut himself off at a bright flash of lightning at the window. When the thunder followed, the lights didn't so much as flicker before cutting out. Chandra's laptop glowed brightly in the dark, running off the battery.

"To find some flashlights?" Gabriel finished.

"I think we only have candles," Mohinder said.

In fact they only had two candles (found after an amount of fumbling in the dark), and Chandra put one on his desk so he could read his physical files. "We won't be getting much done tonight," he said as he saved his open computer files and shut the laptop down. "You should head home, Gabriel."

"I don't have an umbrella. I'd rather see if it lets up, if that's okay."

"You can help me add to the map," Mohinder said as he lit the other candle and set it in a dish on the kitchen table. He gestured to the easel-mounted map that had been pushed off into the corner. Chandra had started it almost immediately after they arrived, to track the people on his growing list. "If you don't mind straining your eyes."

"No problem!" Gabriel said eagerly as he helped clean up the dinner table.

Chandra glanced at him casually as he sat at his desk, not sure what he was hearing in Gabriel's tone. But he told himself it was nothing, and searched for a pencil.

X X X

Chandra realized he'd fallen asleep when he opened his eyes and found that the candle on his desk had been snuffed out. Mohinder and Gabriel sat crosslegged together on the floor, using their candle to see the open book in Mohinder's lap. Or rather, that was what Mohinder was doing. Gabriel's gaze rested on Mohinder's face as Mohinder turned the pages.

"... sure how it could work that way," Mohinder was saying. He kept his voice low for his sleeping father's benefit, but the rain had stopped and Chandra had little trouble hearing. "I don't see how you could just destroy an entire history in a blink. It makes more sense if an alternate timeline is created."

"Like in _Back to the Future_," Gabriel said.

Mohinder shrugged. "I've never seen it."

"No way!" Gabriel whispered. "I'll rent it. Or all three, if you have six hours to spare."

"Heh, I doubt we'll find that kind've time between everything."

"If only I could manipulate time and space."

Mohinder laughed and Gabriel looked pleased with himself. "Well, that still remains to be seen," Mohinder said. "I don't know if I'd want that power, though."

"Why not?"

"Well, assuming there are alternate timelines, time travel only benefits you if you travel into the future and then back to the present to change what you saw. Which is all well and good, but you'd never be able to travel to the past. If you changed anything there, it'd create a new timeline and any forward-traveling would be in that new line. You'd never be able to return to the original timeline you came from without some sort of dimension-hopping power, and even if that was bundled into your ability, nothing you'd fixed in the past would have changed anything in the original line anyway."

Gabriel said nothing for a moment, then, "There is the possibility of a time loop. That anything you did in the past while gathering information or an object to change things in your present actually already happened prior to your present." He paused again and laughed. "If that made any sense."

"I understand. But that's unsettling to think about."

"Why?"

"That implies there was no choice in the matter. No free will."

"It sounds like destiny to me."

"That would be a lot simpler than creating countless alternate universes." He paused. "Alternate universes hold so many more possibilities. Somewhere else we could be having a different conversation, or we were never even born."

"Some_when_ else," Gabriel said with a smile.

Mohinder laughed. "Some_when_ else the butterfly effect has led us to different lives. Maybe you decided not to take on your father's shop and pursued acting instead. Or perhaps I decided not to follow my father here and we never met."

Mohinder stopped here, turning another page. He put his finger to a passage and was about to comment when Gabriel interrupted. "That's a shame."

Mohinder finally looked up. "Hm?"

Gabriel hesitated. "That our other selves never met each other."

"Oh. Yes." Mohinder looked down at the book again, but only for a moment because now he'd certainly noticed how Gabriel was staring at him.

Gabriel had apparently just realized it as well, because he coughed needlessly and shifted a bit away from Mohinder. "I just... You know, you... You're a good friend, Mohinder. I mean, your dad is great, but he can be a little... cold sometimes."

Mohinder smirked. "I had not noticed."

"Heh." Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm just glad you followed him here."

Mohinder hesitated now, but he closed the book and said, "I'm glad I did too."

They sat in quiet for several long moments, and Chandra supposed it was a good time to pretend he had just woken up. But Gabriel impulsively leaned forward, grabbed Mohinder by the shoulder, and pressed his lips to Mohinder's cheek. Mohinder got very still. Gabriel didn't move away yet, still a breath away from Mohinder's face, but when he moved to kiss Mohinder again, almost certainly on the mouth, Mohinder brought up his hands.

"Gabriel," Mohinder said, "I... I mean... I don't..."

Gabriel quickly pulled back, drawing into himself.

Mohinder kept stuttering. "I just... Don't..."

"It's late," Gabriel said, voice too even. He got on his feet and moved past Chandra's desk to the front door before Mohinder even moved his book off his lap. "I should get home." Chandra heard the door open.

"Gabriel, wait!" Mohinder moved hurriedly, and then Chandra couldn't see him either. But he must have stopped Gabriel, because after a long pause he said, "Don't forget we're going for the MRI tomorrow."

"Yeah," Gabriel said, sounding disappointed. "I remember."

But then Mohinder added, "You're staying for dinner again, aren't you?"

"Yes!" was the immediate answer, followed by an embarrassed, low-key, "Yes, of course."

"Okay. I'll come by for you at two."

Chandra heard the door close. Mohinder moved around the apartment for a while, and Chandra still feigned sleep, not sure how to feign waking. But soon Mohinder jostled his shoulder. "Father," he said quietly, "you're not going to feel well in the morning, sleeping like that."

"Ah... yes," Chandra said, slowly sitting up, needlessly rubbing at his eyes. "Did Gabriel leave?"

"Yes, just a few minutes ago. I reminded him about our appointment."

"Hm." Chandra stretched. "I was thinking- earlier- that perhaps you should go in for the day after all. Maybe they could use extra drivers."

Mohinder frowned. "I've worked the past three days. If they need someone, they'll call." He picked up the candle from the floor. "Besides, I told Gabriel I'll be going with you tomorrow."

"And what does it matter if you're there? Only one of us needs to be."

Mohinder fixed him with a glare. "You still... You are so typical." He blew out the candle. "I'm here. I'm part of this. I'm going."

X X X

The second MRI revealed nothing, but the power outage had revealed to Chandra the quality of the time his two assistants spent together. He could see past his research now, to the way Gabriel constantly stared at Mohinder, and even the private way Mohinder reveled in the attention. If Mohinder had to run the smallest errand, there was Gabriel offering company. If Gabriel was staying at his watch shop one day, Mohinder would excuse himself for a brief visit and not return for a few hours.

Chandra thought of himself as an open-minded man- he had to be, in his field of study- but in practice, watching his son being silently courted by another man unsettled him. Of course there was nothing he could do, nothing he had the right to do. Mohinder and Gabriel were grown adults. He should only be worried if their relationship affected their research efforts.

Then one day something changed. Mohinder was with the cab, leaving Chandra and Gabriel alone in their work. But when it came to investigating Gabriel himself, Chandra was out of ideas, and he felt it was time to tell the young man so. Chandra made both of them tea and sat with Gabriel at the kitchen table.

"I think we have to accept that you may have no ability," Chandra said.

It was certainly not what Gabriel was expecting to hear. "What... what are you talking about?"

"We've gone through every evaluation I can think of, many twice, even three times," Chandra said with a sigh. "We've found nothing out of the ordinary."

Gabriel shook his head. "No, no, we'll keep looking!" he insisted. "Your research in India, it led you all the way here, to me, that has to mean something!"

"I am happy you have so much faith in me, Gabriel, but I have to admit when I may have been wrong."

"You can't do this to me," Gabriel said suddenly, distressed.

Chandra meant to smile reassuringly, ask him to calm down, tell him that his assistance was still very much wanted, but Gabriel bolted to his feet.

"I'm sick of being nothing," he snapped, his face darkening. "My whole life I've sat in that godforsaken shop toiling away at little trinkets, believing that I was doomed to stay there the rest of my life, wishing that it wasn't true, that destiny would knock on my door and show me something more. And then it did: you showed up, and everything you told me offered my life some goddamn meaning for once. And now you're just going to take all that away?"

Chandra was offended by Gabriel's abrupt change in attitude towards him. "I cannot take away what's not there, Gabriel. And I have other opportunities I need to-"

"You're just going to find someone else? Like this..." Gabriel reached to the desk and snatched up one of the post-it notes in Mohinder's handwriting. "This Brian Davis. You think he can move stuff with his mind, maybe, and when he can't, oh well, you'll just drop him, huh?" Gabriel crushed the post-it into his fist and stalked back to the desk, sweeping everything onto the floor except the laptop, which teetered precariously on the edge.

Chandra knocked over his chair in his rush to grab it before it fell. He clutched it to his chest and backed away from Gabriel. "I think you should leave, Mr. Gray," he snapped sharply, but his voice shook all the same.

And Gabriel didn't leave. He stood there and glared at Chandra, like he was challenging him to make him leave. His eyes seemed darker than Chandra remembered, darker and open to something hostile and desperate.

"Go home, Gabriel!" Chandra erupted.

Gabriel's stare finally flickered away, and he grabbed his jacket and went out the door, slamming it closed. Chandra waited a long time for his heart to settle.


	2. Part 2

Part Two

That night Chandra called Gabriel's apartment, hoping that he wouldn't pick up. He didn't, and Chandra left a message, thanking Gabriel for all of his help, but noting that he did not appreciate the disrespect he'd been shown. He asked Gabriel not to return to the apartment.

Then it was just a matter of telling Mohinder, which should have been simple. But it wasn't, because Mohinder would say that it was just a silly fight, that Gabriel had just gotten upset. Chandra couldn't prove that the fear he'd felt at Gabriel's outburst was warranted. He couldn't prove that although he felt threatened, Gabriel actually would have become violent. But Chandra couldn't forget the look in his eyes, and couldn't have him back.

Chandra waited until he and Mohinder were halfway finished a quiet dinner before he said, "I've let Gabriel go so we can pursue other leads."

Mohinder stopped in the middle of bringing his fork to his mouth. "Excuse me?"

It wasn't the smoothest way to break the news, but there was no point in waiting longer. Chandra was careful not to look up, to remain aloof. "He's just not manifesting. We're making no progress."

"I don't think I'm understanding," Mohinder said. "You mean let him go, as in-"

"His time would be better spent minding his shop. Here, he's just distracting."

"What are you talking about? He works with me all the time, pushing through books and journals and-"

"That's just it, Mohinder. It's _you _he's distracting. Half the time your discussions wander away from our research." It was not really a lie.

Mohinder laughed. "We do have other interests! It's to be expected we'd find other things to talk about."

"That's not why he's here."

Mohinder paused, eyebrow raised. "Are you... are you angry that I'm making a friend?"

Chandra did not know what to say to this. He took a few more bites.

Mohinder dropped the fork onto his plate. "This- this is ridiculous! You spend your whole life putting me second, third, anything but at the top of your list, and when I find someone I can talk to, you-"

"It's not just talking, is it?" Chandra interrupted coldly.

Mohinder's face was open in shock and embarrassment. "I... I don't-"

"Don't lie to me, Mohinder."

Mohinder retreated into a stoic mask that matched his father's. "Gabriel just has a little infatuation."

"Ah, so it's just him! I see!" Chandra exclaimed.

Mohinder folded his arms and looked away. "I... You make it out to be some great affair that's going on, but it's much more innocent than you seem to think."

"Yes, fooling around with some strange American is quite innocent."

Mohinder's eyes flew back to his father, and he sputtered, "What...I-I am not... not..." He shook his head abruptly and scowled. "I don't have to justify myself to you! Treating me like I'm some sort of deviant! And 'some strange American?' I guess he's really not your beloved Patient Zero anymore."

"My... Our work here is important, and this behavior is completely unprof-"

"No," Mohinder interrupted. "You don't need to placate me. This is _your _work. I've been well aware of that since before we even left home. I'm just in the way, as usual. And now that Gabriel hasn't turned out the way you'd always imagined, that he's something other than a research opportunity, he's just as much of a waste of time. That's about your _modus operandi_."

Chandra finally put down his fork, hand shaking a bit. "I won't pretend that I've always been as attentive as I could have been, but I have never thought of you as less than my son, and I only want you to consider what's best-"

Mohinder threw up his hands. "What is the matter with you? Why are you acting like Gabriel is a criminal?" He looked away. "I know it's... it's different, the way he acts toward me. I'm not an idiot; I know back home it'd be foolish not to reprimand him. But I never thought that you..."

Chandra would be lying if he said there wasn't some truth to what Mohinder was saying. But the alternative was admitting to mere suspicions about Gabriel, to hunches with no evidence, and that was not something Chandra did. So he went with Mohinder's assumption. "It makes me uncomfortable," he said simply. "And it detracts from the research."

"Are you banning me from seeing him?" Mohinder laughed. "I hope you realize this is not some grand trashy novel."

"I don't care what you do, Mohinder, but that man is no longer welcome here."

Mohinder said nothing for a while. Then he excused himself and left.

X X X

Chandra knew that Mohinder craved his approval. He'd never tried to exploit this before, but now he hoped that Mohinder would remove Gabriel from his life in an effort to please his father. But the very friendship Chandra had encouraged quickly proved to have no regard for him in the week that followed; when not driving the taxi, Mohinder was still available to help with Chandra's work, but he would also disappear for hours at a time. There was no doubt he was with Gabriel, even if Mohinder never so much as mentioned his name, even when it seemed like he desperately wanted to.

At the end of the week, Mohinder came home three hours after the end of his shift clearly agitated, his brow constantly furrowed with worry. He said nothing to Chandra, keeping his feelings to himself as he was wont to do, but finally at dinner he asked, "What did you say to Gabriel when you last spoke to him?"

Chandra said sternly, "I am not going to rehash our argument with you, Mohinder."

"I don't want to argue about it. I just want to know."

"I simply told him he wasn't manifesting anything, and I felt it would be better if he returned to his own life. Why?"

"I just... I visited him and he was very upset. He..." Mohinder trailed off, not looking Chandra in the eye.

"What? What happened?" Chandra looked for bruises or abrasions he perhaps hadn't noticed when Mohinder got home, but there were none that he could see.

Mohinder hesitated. "He..." He shook his head. "Nothing."

Chandra knew from experience that pushing the matter would get him nowhere, so he didn't.

X X X

Whatever had happened with Gabriel, it was easily forgotten the next day, along with Chandra's request that the man not return to the apartment. Mohinder burst in, dragging Gabriel with him. "You won't believe it!" he exclaimed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Chandra demanded.

"I'm sorry," Gabriel said reflexively.

Mohinder moved with uncontained excitement, completely ignoring the flabbergasted look on Chandra's face and pushing him down into a kitchen chair. He sat Gabriel opposite and quickly scanned the apartment, snatching up a glass and setting it in the middle of the table. Chandra glanced up at Gabriel, who stared at him nervously.

"Go on," Mohinder said, wringing his hands for an apparent lack of not knowing what else to do with them. "Show him."

Gabriel took a breath and shifted his gaze to the glass. Chandra realized Gabriel wasn't wearing his glasses; in fact, it was the first time Chandra had seen him without them. Gabriel's brow furrowed in concentration for a moment, two, three, and as Chandra was about to speak again, the glass jittered across the table and abruptly flung itself into the wall, shattering. Chandra gaped in shock.

"Sorry," Gabriel apologized. "I'll pay for that."

"N-no," Chandra said. "No, it's just glass. I..."

Mohinder could not stop smiling, positively giddy. "I promised him a new tea set after how many times I made him show me."

"I was more than happy to show you," Gabriel said quickly.

They exchanged a look that Chandra would have found troubling if he was not busy gathering his thoughts. His research had led him to the right place after all. Gabriel did have a special ability, telekinesis. And Chandra felt all his misgivings shift to the side as Gabriel re-emerged as the the center of his work.

"I-I apologize, Gabriel," Chandra said, "for being so hard on you and doubting you." He glanced at his son. "I'm glad Mohinder is here to offset my stern focus; I wouldn't have blamed you for not bothering to come back and show me this."

Gabriel leaned forward and shook his head. "No, I understand. You were frustrated. I would have come back on my own, Chandra. I didn't even know any of this was possible until you walked into my shop. I don't think I would have discovered that I... You changed my life, and I owe you everything."

Chandra felt a little dizzy. "Excuse me," he said. "I'm... I'll be right back."

He retreated to the bathroom and swung the door shut behind him. He turned on the faucet and cupped his hands under the flow, splashing the water on his face. He stared into the mirror, reassuring himself. It wasn't bad judgment to forget those few moments of fright. Nothing had come of them after all. And Mohinder had spent all that time with Gabriel, and he was perfectly safe. Leaving Gabriel out of his work now because of a brief tantrum would be ludicrous.

He could hear Gabriel and Mohinder talking softly; the door hadn't closed all the way.

"... happy?"

"Of course he is! This is _amazing_. He's just overwhelmed."

"Yeah. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed myself."

Mohinder chuckled a little, but the sound trailed off, and then he said, "Is that why... Yesterday, when I came by... You've always been so eager to have an ability but when you found it, was it too-"

"Something like that. Listen, I don't really want to talk about that."

"I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's fine." A beat. "I want you to know, though, I'm glad you were there. You made everything so much more... lucid. You always do."

Chandra came out of the bathroom then, pretending not to notice how close the two men had been standing before Mohinder quickly took a few steps back, clasping his hands behind his back.

X X X

Chandra did resolve to keep an eye out for more mood swings from Gabriel, but soon after they began testing the strength of Gabriel's telekinesis, Chandra's attention was drawn to other things. One of his wife's packages appeared to have been opened. On a visit to the library, Chandra kept getting the feeling that he was being trailed through the stacks. For two hours during one of his taxi shifts, he could have sworn the same black sedan kept reappearing in his rearview mirror. One day when he arrived home, Mohinder mentioned that a telephone repairman had stopped by and it had taken an odd amount of effort to convince him nothing was wrong with the line.

Chandra had of course thought of the risks in pursuing his research. Though back at the university he was a laughing stock, he couldn't discount that in America other parties might take his work seriously- and want to take it for themselves. Then there were the potential subjects of his research, who would probably not be fond of a stranger poking into their private lives and could lash out if they felt threatened. Chandra hadn't been able to think of a feasible way to neutralize either scenario; he'd only taken some precautions, such as bringing along some debilitating drugs and keeping his laptop password private, even from Mohinder and Gabriel.

But now he was faced with a threat. Or rather, not _faced _with a threat, but pursued by one that lurked not only in the shadows but in crowds. Before leaving India, he had thought he could deal with an aggressor through vigilance and stalwartness, but as stony a man he considered himself to be, it didn't take long to feel rattled, to feel paranoia perch on his shoulder and breathe near-imperceptibly in his ear.

Then again, for all the supposed traces of someone following him, Chandra never actually saw anyone, and Gabriel and Mohinder never seemed to feel anything was wrong. Perhaps it was all in Chandra's head. Perhaps he was taking the magnitude of his work too seriously and imagining antagonists who wanted only to pull his work out from under him. Or so he hoped.

That hope was corrected one evening after about three weeks of Chandra looking over his shoulder. Gabriel and Mohinder stood side-by-side at the kitchen counter, chopping vegetables for a simple salad dinner, while Chandra sat at the table and unsuccessfully tried to read the newspaper.

"I used to get all my meals out of the microwave," Gabriel said.

"Ah," Mohinder said, "that explains your pallor when I first met you."

Gabriel snorted and bumped their shoulders. "Funny."

"Thank you," Mohinder replied, smiling cheekily.

Their knives hit the cutting board in dueling rhythms. Chandra's eyes ran over a blurb about a missing man, who'd left his office and never made it home. His name, Brian Davis, turned in Chandra's mind. He knew it from somewhere...

Gabriel said, "You know, you're not the only one who's shown up at my shop with food."

"Oh?" Mohinder said.

"Do you remember... the day before I showed you my ability, when that girl came into the shop?"

"Girl?"

"The blonde?"

Chandra pretended not to notice Mohinder glance back at him. "I was a bit too preoccupied to really look at her," Mohinder replied.

"Well, I've seen her again. Yesterday."

They were done cutting, and Mohinder set their knives in the sink. "Did she... what did she want?" he asked, rinsing off his hands.

"She brought me a pie."

"A pie?" Mohinder echoed.

"She said she hoped I was feeling better." Gabriel scooped up the vegetables and added them to a large bowl of lettuce. "And yeah, it was 'nice,' but then she wouldn't _leave_. She had a watch for me, and that was fine, but then she started asking about the shop and me and I don't think she had any concept of personal space. She kept looming over my shoulder while I worked or just standing really close." He washed his hands. "And she always clasped her hands behind her back like she was doing her best not to touch me."

Mohinder raised an eyebrow as he dried his hands on a clean dish towel. "I suppose she likes you?"

"That's what I supposed." Gabriel took the towel from Mohinder. "Then she started asking about you."

"Me?"

"Who you are, if you helped me before. Again, normal questions at first, but then she wanted to know how I knew you, and if you'd been in the country long, and... strange questions. She actually said, 'Wow, I bet knowing someone from so far away really changes your outlook! Do you feel any different?'"

"That's... suspect."

Gabriel draped the towel over the faucet, leaned against the counter, and looked at Chandra. "I think we should be worried."

"I said it's suspect," Mohinder sighed, "not evidence."

Chandra met Gabriel's gaze. "I think I'm being followed," he admitted.

"What?" Mohinder exclaimed. "By who?"

"I'm not sure," Chandra said, and explained his experiences.

"Do you think someone is trying to steal your research?" Gabriel said, alarmed.

"But the only people who know we're here..." Mohinder shook his head and laughed a bit. "They think my father is insane."

"Someone new then?" Gabriel said. "Maybe someone you called is more interested than we'd like them to be."

"Only one person has actually returned one of my phone calls," Chandra said.

"Ah, yes, Bennet," Mohinder said. "He was so excited about his daughter's potential that he completely forgot to return our follow-up calls."

"They don't have to have shown interest to be interested," Gabriel pointed out.

"So basically we're left with nothing," Mohinder said. "No suspects, and not even evidence that anything's actually wrong."

"That girl," Chandra said. "Do you think she'll be back?"

"I'm not sure," Gabriel said. "She said she would, but she seemed disappointed when she left, probably because I wasn't very talkative." He paused. "You think I should talk to her next time? Try to figure out who she is?"

"It's the only course of action we really have."

Gabriel rapped his fingers against the counter. "What about Eden?"

"Are you still hung up on her?" Mohinder said.

"Come on! She would fit into this whole scheme perfectly!"

Chandra couldn't deny that she would. Even though he'd never followed up on her offer of help, she did pop by uninvited occasionally, most often when Chandra happened to be alone. (And just once when only Gabriel and Mohinder were present. Chandra arrived home that day to Mohinder accusing Gabriel of telekinetically knocking her hot tea into her lap.) She had a growing interest in the map and the associated list and how Chandra assembled them. He usually humored her with basic answers and then changed the subject for a break from work. With recent events, he was so nervous about his work that he barely answered her questions at all.

"We don't even know what this supposed 'scheme' is," Mohinder retorted.

"Maybe we should ask her," Gabriel said, heading for the door.

"What?" Mohinder followed him out into the hall. "What are you doing?"

"I think it would be prudent not to throw around wild accusations, Gabriel!" Chandra called after them.

"They want to be shifty and secretive," Gabriel said to Mohinder. They'd left the door open and Chandra watched Gabriel knock on Eden's door. "They can't be in the open. If we threaten them with exposure-"

Mohinder threw up his hands. "'They!' 'Them!' You're becoming a mad conspirator."

Gabriel ignored him. "Eden!" he called.

Chandra sighed and got up to corral them back into the apartment, but the phone on the desk rang. "Will the both of you refrain from making a scene?" he chided before picking up. "Hello?"

"Hey, uh..." It was a male voice, with heavy music in the background. "I'm returning a call I got a couple weeks ago? From a doctor guy?"

Chandra pressed the phone closer to his right ear and held his hand over his left to block out Mohinder and Gabriel arguing in the hall. "This is Dr. Suresh," he said eagerly, hoping it wasn't just some tactless student worker at Columbia. "May I have your name?" he asked, quickly rummaging through his desk.

"Trevor," the man said uneasily. "Trevor Zeitlan."

Chandra found a wrinkled list of names and telephone numbers and flipped to the bottom of the second page. His spirits leaped; Zeitlan was at the end.

"Look, that stuff you said about genetic markers and... and changes, what kind of changes did you mean? I mean, we're not talking about delayed puberty, yeah?"

Chandra laughed. "Not at all, Mr. Zeitlan." He fumbled for a pen and paper. "Have you experienced unusual changes? New... new skills that you haven't had before?"

"Well, I... It happened a few months ago, actually. I wasn't even going to call you back, to be honest, but I've just been thinking, do you think something's wrong? Like, are there bizarro side effects, or...?"

"Those are the kinds of questions I can better answer if we meet and you tell me what 'it' is."

Trevor paused. "Yeah, I dunno about that, man. I don't really know who you are."

"I understand perfectly. I can meet you in public. We can proceed or not proceed from there at your discretion, of course."

Another pause. "You're not, like, with the government, are you? Like you're not going to lock me up and do experiments on me and train me to be a weapon, or like-"

"If I was with the government, I would likely already be at your door," Chandra said assuringly.

"Ah. Right." Trevor sounded embarrassed. "Well, okay, um... I have some time on Thursday after five. You can meet me at the store. It's a record shop, over on..."

Chandra scribbled down the store address. "I will be there, Mr. Zeitlan."

"Yeah, yeah, cool," he replied hastily. "Alright, see you then."

Mohinder and Gabriel returned to the apartment, and Chandra was so caught up in the call that it took him a moment to remember what they had been discussing just a few minutes earlier. He noticed their discontent expressions as he hung up the phone. "Did you talk to Eden?" he asked.

"Her neighbor says she moved out yesterday," Mohinder said, frowning.

"Up and disappeared," Gabriel tagged on pointedly.

"It is rather strange."

"'Rather strange?' She was so intent on seeing Chandra half the time she was home, and she leaves without saying anything? That's more than 'rather strange.'"

"You can't expect me to join your witch hunt on a whim," Mohinder sighed. "You think she's some spy; she couldn't even pronounce Father's name."

"Yeah, how convenient and cutesy!" Gabriel exclaimed. "It's not that hard to say!"

Mohinder spotted the notepad in Chandra's hand. "What's that? Who was on the phone?"

Chandra smiled. "Someone else finally returned one of my calls."

Mohinder's eyes widened in surprise as expected, but Gabriel looked suddenly alert, and his eyes focused on the pad of paper as Mohinder grabbed it from his father.

"Trevor Zeitlan," Mohinder read. "Wasn't he the one you suspected of having-"

Chandra snatched it back. "A kind of disintegration," he finished, moving to the desk to check his notes.

"It says you're meeting on Thursday?" Mohinder said, sounding disappointed.

Chandra remembered Mohinder had a shift that afternoon. "Ah, yes. But I'm sure he'll meet with us again, if Gabriel comes with me to allay his fears." He smiled at Gabriel, but the younger man seemed off in space, not contemplative per se, but more... calculating. "Gabriel?" Chandra repeated.

Gabriel looked up. "What? I'm sorry?"

Chandra frowned. "Can you come with me to see Mr. Zeitlan on Thursday?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Gabriel said, beaming suddenly, but his eyes were still lost elsewhere. "Where are we meeting him?"

X X X

Chandra was normally patient, but the sudden prospect of another person to study, the sense that his efforts hadn't stagnated but were on track to something awesome and grand, recharged his spirits. By the time Wednesday hit, he positively itched to meet Trevor. He hoped losing himself in a day of research would make the time pass more quickly. He wasn't sure if Mohinder and Gabriel's absence would make the day go faster or slower.

There was some special exhibit traveling to some museum or other- Chandra couldn't remember the details, he had more pressing concerns- and Mohinder and Gabriel were going to spend the morning there before Mohinder went to work. Chandra had been trying to ignore the development of their relationship (_they never asked Chandra if he wanted to go; Gabriel had paid for both tickets; Mohinder had actually changed his clothing twice that morning, claiming he was just looking for something that was nice for the museum but comfortable for the cab_), because it really was none of his business, but his misgivings about Gabriel lurked at the back of his mind.

Chandra had always been slow to let emotions overcome his reasoning when it was necessary, and he was finally considering talking to Mohinder about Gabriel. He would try to be delicate about it- he would start out perhaps just asking if Mohinder thought Gabriel seemed odd-tempered- but there was no doubt that Chandra's previous rejection of Gabriel would come up. He would have to be honest this time if he wanted Mohinder to take him seriously. However, if this "infatuation," as Mohinder had called it, was no longer one-sided, it would be irresponsible not to say anything.

At breakfast he watched Mohinder glance at the clock as he ate his cereal. Chandra contemplated how to approach the conversation neutrally, but he knew his intentions would be just as obvious as Mohinder downplaying his eagerness for Gabriel to arrive. Chandra should just jump in, he knew, and he set down his spoon.

Before he could speak, Mohinder turned to him with a mischievous smile. "Watch this," he said, getting up and moving to the door. He put his hand on the knob and watched the clock. "Five, four, three..." he said quietly.

When the clock struck exactly nine-thirty, Mohinder opened the door and there was Gabriel, hand raised to knock. He blinked at Mohinder, who made a show of checking an invisible watch. "Right on time!" he teased.

Gabriel looked sheepish. "Well, that's embarrassing."

Mohinder laughed and stepped aside so he could come in. "Not particularly. I can't believe you set our clock exactly in sync with your watch."

Gabriel glanced down at his wrist, at the watch he'd taken to wearing every day for weeks now. "I didn't, not really. They're both just right on time."

"With what?"

"Just... on time."

"Well, you are the expert," Mohinder said. "I just finished eating, do you want-"

"Nah, I just need a minute, and then we can head out if you're ready."

Mohinder nodded and Gabriel slipped into the bathroom. Mohinder waited idly at Chandra's desk, looking down at the newspaper Chandra had brought in earlier.

Chandra glanced from his son to the bathroom door. "Mohinder..." he started. "When you get back tonight, I would like to discuss something with you." Mohinder didn't spare him a glance and picked up the newspaper. "Mohinder?" Chandra repeated, annoyed, until he saw the shocked expression on Mohinder's face. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think Mr. Zeitlan is going to make it tomorrow," Mohinder said queasily.

"Why not?"

Mohinder held up the paper and pointed to a headline: MAN FOUND DEAD WITHOUT BRAIN.

"What in the name of..." Chandra breathed, grabbing the paper. _Twenty-five-year-old Trevor Zeitlan of Brooklyn was found dead in his apartment yesterday evening..._

The toilet flushed and the bathroom sink ran. Gabriel emerged from the bathroom and noticed the morbid mood immediately. "What? What's going on?" he asked, looking from son to father.

"Look at this!" Mohinder said, snatching the paper from Chandra and thrusting it at Gabriel.

Gabriel's eyes widened as they took in the large type. "Goes without saying that he's dead, doesn't it?"

"Gabriel!" Mohinder snapped.

"Sorry, sorry," Gabriel muttered, ducking his head to read the article. "Trevor?"

"That would be the bigger concern than critiquing the copy, yes." Mohinder tossed the paper at him.

It hit Gabriel's chest and he caught it before it fell. He glanced at it for another moment. "Well... golly."

"_Golly?_ We need to call the police."

"What?" Gabriel's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"We were supposed to interview him about his ability, and his _brain_ was removed!"

"There are a lot of crazy people in this city, Mohinder. I doubt it had anything to do with his ability."

"Perhaps not, but we don't know that, and the police should have all the information they can get."

"I think we should stay out of it," Gabriel said. "Think about it. We're doing scientific research into this guy and he winds up with his brain missing? Do you have any idea how that looks?"

Mohinder snorted. "Ah, yes, we're mad scientists in a film come to life."

"Of course you think it sounds ridiculous, but the NYPD aren't going to be so dismissive. Especially since talking about powers will make you look insane, and even if I thought I could show them what I can do without being turned into a lab rat, you'd still be suspects." Gabriel scratched the back of his head nervously when he added, "And to be honest, it doesn't help that you guys are, well, foreign."

Mohinder shifted uncomfortably and folded his arms. "Gabriel, it wouldn't be right."

Gabriel pressed his hand to Mohinder's shoulder. "What wouldn't be right? What would you even tell them? Chandra barely talked to Zeitlan. You don't know where he was, or who could've done that to him. You got one phone call from what, his work? All you can do is confirm he was there, and plenty of other people can do that."

"If someone is watching us," Chandra said carefully, "and knew that we were to meet Trevor-"

"Why would they kill him?" Gabriel asked. "And how would they even know you were meeting him? We already checked the apartment for bugs."

"Perhaps we missed something."

"We didn't. And, really, we know next to nothing about this guy, who he was, the people he was involved with. I'd be surprised if this had anything to do with us." Gabriel turned from Chandra to Mohinder. "Trust me. We should forget we even had his address."

Then, right then, Chandra remembered where he had last seen the name Brian Davis, folding up in Gabriel's fist. He could see Mohinder's writing in his mind's eye. _Brian Davis. 14 Berman Street. Telekinesis?_

"Maybe you're right," Mohinder said tentatively. "It's not as if we knew anything more about him."

Gabriel nodded. "I don't want to imagine the legal nightmare you two could get into, not even being citizens. You understand, Chandra?"

Gabriel smiled, so beguilingly. Such a pleasant boy, well-dressed and mild-tempered.

"Chandra?" he repeated, smile fading.

"Yes," Chandra said. "I think that's wise."

X X X

Chandra noticed another post-it note was missing a few days later. He looked through his main log and determined it had been the name and address of one Robert Corber, living right there in New York, just like Trevor Zeitlan, like Brian Davis. Chandra suspected Corber might possess superior endurance- not a proactive ability, but useful nevertheless.

Gabriel said he was spending Sunday catching up on work in his shop. Chandra said he had a taxi shift that day. Chandra hoped that only one of them was lying.

In the morning, he parked his cab across the street from Gabriel's shop, near the corner. He left it there, walking to Gabriel's neighborhood and ordering a coffee in the shop across the street from Gabriel's apartment. Around 8:30 Gabriel emerged and set off on foot. Chandra followed a block behind, hoping that Gabriel wouldn't glance back. He didn't.

Gabriel did go to his shop, and Chandra waited in his cab for hours. He warily left the car to grab lunch from a street vendor, afraid that Gabriel would have vanished when he returned. But the young man was still there, sweeping dust out of shop in full view.

At three o'clock, Gabriel left, but instead of returning to his apartment on foot, he hailed a cab. Chandra started his own cab and tailed them, straining to keep a fair distance but not lose sight of the car in the midst of several other taxis. Gabriel was dropped off in front of an old brick apartment building, and after paying he headed straight through the doors. Chandra checked the number of the building, the street sign. It was the same place Robert Corber lived. Chandra parked behind the restaurant across the street.

He went inside after ten minutes, when he finally gathered up his nerve. Corber lived in 2E, and Chandra moved quietly up the stairs. The floor branched off to the left and right on the second floor landing, and he went the wrong way at first, passing F and G. He turned and went back, and E was the first door on his right. He listened; he could hear two voices inside, one of them marked by Gabriel's deceptive pleasantness.

The conversation stopped, followed by a few short bangs. Then nothing. Chandra held his breath and opened the door slightly, peeking in.

A well-built man dressed in running shorts and a gray t-shirt was pinned high on the wall above his still-running treadmill. Gabriel's right hand was out, palm flat against the air, holding Corber there.

"What are you doing?" Corber exclaimed.

Gabriel's hand crooked into a C, and Corber choked. "Shhhh," Gabriel said. "I'm just putting your skill to better use."

And Gabriel pointed at the man's head, and there was a terrible shrieking in the air, not from the man's useless voice, but from the telekinesis cutting through his skull. Chandra lost his grip on the doorknob and fell forward, knocking the door open into the wall. Gabriel's head turned and his wild eyes locked onto Chandra.

And Chandra ran. He ran to his cab and thanked every God he knew that he'd left the keys in the ignition. But he couldn't get his shaking hands to start the car, and he could hardly breathe. He needed to get a hold of himself, quickly, but his thoughts rushed around his head.

Gabriel killed Robert Corber, and now Chandra knew his earlier suspicions were true. Gabriel had killed Brian Davis and Trevor Zeitlan. And Chandra had not investigated, had not wanted to feel culpable, had not wanted to acknowledge that this man at the center of his life's work could do such reprehensible things.

Worst of all was the ever-present fascination. Even now the affirmation that Gabriel could take on the abilities of others left a thrill of excitement. That such a thing was possible!

But it was abhorrent, and it was frightening. Chandra could not fathom going to the police. Even if they did not think he was crazy, what could they do against a telekinetic? Against a man who could vaporize them? And what would Gabriel do to Chandra for trying to stop him? And...

Mohinder.

Chandra reached to turn the keys in the ignition when they suddenly flung themselves through the opening in the divider between the front and back seats. The car trembled and the plastic in the divider snapped, falling apart in chunks. The back door opened and someone settled in. Chandra was too frightened to look.

"This is unfortunate," Gabriel said, all too casually. "I hoped it might be a while yet before you suspected." A sigh. "Zeitlan was a mistake."

"A mistake," Chandra said, laughing weakly.

"It's not ideal," Gabriel said. "I didn't intend to kill Davis when I called him. I just... I needed to know. I needed to know if I would be so easily replaced. And then he showed me his power. I thought I would be angry, but I was so amazed. I was so _happy_, Chandra, that everything you said could be confirmed.

"But Brian Davis wasn't happy. He asked me to get rid of it. Can you imagine? He was broken. I could tell, just as easily as I could tell your watch was behind. So I fixed it."

Opened him up, like cracking an egg for the yolk.

"Just by examining his brain, I knew how his power worked. And once I knew, I could feel, in my head, something unlock, something change." The keys floated to the front of the car, over the passenger seat. Chandra didn't grab for them. It would have been pointless. "I had his ability." The keys dropped.

"An intuitive aptitude," Chandra breathed, realizing he'd seen hints of the ability all the long.

"Intuitive aptitude," Gabriel repeated. "I like that."

"How could you use such a gift to do something so horrible?"

"It's not horrible. It's fate, don't you see?" Gabriel said. "The progression of the species. You awoke it within me, and I can carry it on. Destiny."

"This isn't progression- it's murder."

"You can't see it how I do. I understand how it all works."

"Gabriel, such an ability allows you to understand complex biological and mechanical systems. There's no evidence that it lends itself to your understanding of anything as ethereal as destiny."

"Mohinder thinks it's destiny, how we've come together."

"Mohinder would not be happy to find we were 'destined' to help you murder innocents."

"He'll understand in time. He's a part of it too. I can feel it when we're together."

Chandra's hands started to shake again. "Stay away from my son."

Gabriel laughed mockingly. "And why would I do that? I'm not _you_. I don't downplay his accomplishments, hold him at arm's length, let some phantom past stand between us. What happened, Chandra? What is it that makes you push him away? He's so beautiful."

"Stop," Chandra snapped. "All of this will stop. I will find no more of them for you. And Mohinder... Mohinder will not stand for this either."

A long pause. "I wish you could understand."

Chandra felt his blood chill.

"Things are so different now," Gabriel said quietly. "Before, I had nothing, I was nothing, but now I have this, and I... I realize I can have everything. You don't know what that's like, to have the world just shift in your favor so abruptly. When everything you want is suddenly in reach. You don't even know where to start.

"But I know now. You start with whatever's in your way."

Chandra tried to plead. "Gabriel-"

"It's Sylar now." Gabriel's hands slipped around the headrest, and his palms pressed against either side of Chandra's head. "Don't worry. I'll take care of Mohinder."

Chandra's vision spun into a loud crack-

X X X

Mohinder and Gabriel's relationship had not progressed quite as far as Chandra feared. Sylar would not have minded if it had, but at the same time it was exciting and fulfilling to watch Mohinder tiptoe around Gabriel's obvious affection for him, slowly but surely accepting it, subtly returning it. Sylar's trade had taught him patience. Trying to rush things would only lead to mistakes, and he didn't want Mohinder to reconsider his feelings, to struggle with the inevitable.

Which he certainly would if he knew what Gabriel had done.

Sylar supposed lying about Chandra's death should have been difficult. But it was necessary, which reduced his compunctions.

There was a knock on his door at two in the morning, several hours after his last conversation with Chandra. Sylar had been sitting at his kitchen table, waiting, but when he answered the door he pretended he had been sleeping.

"Mohinder?" he said, happy with a dash of confusion. "What time is it?"

Mohinder silently pushed past Sylar into the apartment. He walked stiffly to the couch and sat down.

Sylar allowed for a concerned pause. "What's wrong?" he asked, walking over.

Mohinder shook his head. For a moment it appeared as if he would speak, but he suddenly ducked his head, pulling at his hair.

"Hey," Sylar said softly, untangling Mohinder's fingers from his curls. Sylar kneeled on the floor and tried to catch his eye. "What's wrong?"

Mohinder wouldn't look anywhere but the carpet. He hardly blinked. "My father," he croaked. "He's dead."

Sylar widened his eyes and gasped. "What? What happened?"

"They found him in his cab, on some side street. His head..." Mohinder pulled his hands away from Sylar's. "His neck was snapped."

"Oh, my God," Sylar said, properly horrified.

"The police said it was a robbery- his wallet and fares were gone- but why..." Mohinder wrapped his arms around himself.

Sylar moved to sit beside him on the couch. "This city... It's a dangerous place," he offered sympathetically. He rubbed Mohinder's shoulder, but Mohinder shrugged him off. Sylar paused. "It's so awful," he breathed, and it wasn't a lie. He didn't want to put Mohinder through this. It was just the way their path wound. "I was just over yesterday, I mean... I'm so sorry, Mohinder. What can I do?"

"Just... just sit with me."

Sylar did. He waited, and felt frustration bubble up as Mohinder closed himself off, or so it seemed until a tear slid down his cheek. Sylar pulled Mohinder to him and this time he wasn't shoved away.

"Could I stay here tonight?" Mohinder murmured into Sylar's chest. "That apartment..."

"Anything you need," Sylar said, holding him closer. Mohinder clung to his shirt, and in Sylar's mind's eye he tucked his fingers under Mohinder's chin and tipped his head up to kiss him. Mohinder pressed back eagerly despite his tears, and did not protest as Sylar laid him out on the couch, intent on showing Mohinder how much he was loved, so much more than Chandra could have ever offered him.

But the Mohinder clinging to his shirt began to sob. Sylar pet his hair. He could wait. This was destiny, after all.


End file.
